Flexible display sensing

ABSTRACT

Systems, apparatuses and methods may provide for a flexible display detection system to detect movement (e.g., flexing) of a flexible display screen on a device and to interpret the movement as a gesture or selection of a device mode. Embodiments may utilize bendable sensors located adjacent to the flexible display, and may divide a display into multiple panel sections (e.g., three panels) connected to one another via hinging portions of the flexible display. Depending on the arrangement of the sections, the device may be operated in a different mode such as, for example, a tablet mode, a reader mode, or a phone mode.

CROSS-REFERENCE RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims benefit of priority to InternationalPatent Application No. PCT/US2015/000434, filed Dec. 24, 2015.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments generally relate to portable electronic devices and mobilecomputing platforms on which a user interacts with a screen viagestures. More particularly, embodiments relate to devices in which auser interacts with a device having a flexible display.

BACKGROUND

Portable electronic devices such as a smart phone, a cell phone, atablet computer, a convertible tablet, a notebook computer, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile Internet device (MID), a media player,a radio, an infotainment system, etc., or any combination thereof,generally include displays having an interface through which a userinteracts with the device. The user may, for example, interact with adisplay of a device via a gesture performed by the user with respect tothe display. The display may be rigid, and equipped with a touchsensitive capability for facilitating user interactions. In this regard,the range of possible user interactions may be constrained tointeractions that require the user to press down on the display. Inanother example where a gesture involves movement, the user interactionsmay be uni-axial with respect to the display. Such interactions may becumbersome and limiting from a user perspective, since users tend tointeract with their environment not simply by pushing buttons, but bygrabbing, squeezing, bending, and flexing objects in their hands.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various advantages of the embodiments will become apparent to oneskilled in the art by reading the following specification and appendedclaims, and by referencing the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an example of a portable device having a flexible screen shownin an unflexed state according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2. is an example of a flexible screen shown in a flexed stateaccording to an embodiment;

FIGS. 3A-3B are top and side views, respectively, of an example of abendable sensor shown in an unbent state according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a side view of an example of a bendable sensor shown in a bentstate according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a side view of an example of two bendable sensors shown matedto one another and in an unbent state according to an embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of an example of a device having a flexibledisplay according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the flexible display of FIG. 6 according to anembodiment;

FIG. 8 is flowchart of an example of a method of an interaction with aflexible display according to an embodiment;

FIG. 9 is an example of a block diagram of a flexible display systemaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of an example of a flexible display shown ina tablet mode according to an embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a side schematic view of the flexible display of FIG. 10according to an embodiment;

FIG. 12 is flowchart of an example of a method of interacting with aflexible display having hinges according to an embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of an example of a flexible display shown ina book mode according to an embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a side schematic view of the flexible display of FIG. 13according to an embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of an example of a flexible display shown ina phone mode according to an embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a side schematic view of the flexible display of FIG. 15according to an embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view of an example of a flexible display shown ina book mode according to an embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a top plan view of an example of a gesture on a flexibledisplay shown in a phone mode according to an embodiment;

FIGS. 19-20 are side schematic views of additional exampleconfigurations of a flexible display according to embodiments; and

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of an example of a computing system accordingto an embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An electronic device may be a portable electronic device. The termportable electronic device may refer to a mobile device (e.g., smartphones, etc.), which may have geo-location capability, an ability tocommunicate with another device, an interactive display, multi-sensingcapabilities, and/or other features. Thus, a portable electronic devicemay have access to one or more of the capabilities included in a smartphone such as geo-location, sensors, access to the internet via Wi-Fi(Wireless Fidelity, e.g., Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers/IEEE 802.11-2007, Wireless Local Area Network/LAN MediumAccess Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications), nearfield communications, Bluetooth (e.g., IEEE 802.15.1-2005, WirelessPersonal Area Networks) or other communication protocol. The access toone or more capabilities may be direct access and/or may be indirectaccess such as via a Bluetooth connection with a nearby smart phone, awearable device worn elsewhere on a user, and so forth.

An electronic device may include an interface to interact with a user.For example, a user may interact with a portable electronic device via asubstantially inflexible display, wherein the display may include atactile screen overlay of capacitive touch sensors. Interactions with asubstantially inflexible display may be one-dimensional with respect tothe display, wherein the user may typically moves a finger or stylusalong an axis orthogonal to or parallel with the display to interactwith the display. The user may also engage in more complex gestures,such as swiping a finger across the display or enacting a pinchingmotion on the display. If the display is inflexible, the possibilitiesfor user interaction with the display may be limited by the degrees offreedom that the display may accommodate.

Embodiments disclosed herein present interactions between a user and anelectronic device having a flexible screen. The term “flexible” mayreference a capability of a display to non-destructively sustain any orall of a flexible movement, a stretching movement, a flexing, a flexure,a bending, a twisting, a torsion, a squeezing, or a warping movementwhen subjected to force or torque levels of an order provided by a userwhen using the device. Examples of flexible displays include displaysbased on organic light emitting diodes (OLED) technologies, as well asany other type of display that is flexible. Flexing (and similarmovements) of the display may be detected when the display is matchedwith bendable sensors, wherein flexing (and similar movements) may beused to define one or more modes of device operation as well as one ormore gestures for interacting with the device.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a device 1 having a flexible display 10 (e.g., adisplay that is flexible) is shown according to an embodiment. Thedevice 1 may be part of an electronic device such as a tablet, a smartphone, a gaming platform, a controller, or other hand-held electronicdevice. FIG. 1 shows the flexible display 10 in an unflexed state. Asshown in FIG. 2, the display 10 may be flexed into a flexed state inresponse to the application of various force vectors 12 to the perimeterof the flexible display 10. The flexible display 10 may have anoverlying touch screen with capacitive touch sensing capability.

Turning now to FIGS. 3A-3B, an example of a bendable sensor 14 is shown(not necessarily drawn to scale), wherein the bendable sensor 14 may beprovided with a flexible display such as the flexible display 10 (FIG.1), discussed above. The bendable sensor 14 produces a signal inresponse to a variety of mechanical loadings and/or physicaldisplacements that correspond to a bending movement, which may includeany or all of a flexing movement, a stretching movement, a twistingmovement, a flex movement, or a flexure movement. In some embodiments,these movements may correspond to changes to the configuration of thedisplay, such as from a phone, to a tablet, to a reader, as is furtherdiscussed below. In some embodiments, a bendable sensor may further beresponsive to pressure, capacitance, temperature, humidity, light,and/or chemicals. Thus, by placing one or more bendable sensors, such asthe bendable sensor 14, in direct and bound contact with a flexibledisplay, such as flexible display 10, the bendable sensors may matchmovements occurring on a portion of the flexible display to which theyare attached. In addition, a signal produced by the bendable sensor 14in response to any or all of the aforementioned movements may be used asan indication of the movement to which the flexible display 10 has beensubjected by outside forces (e.g., a bending movement movement).

The bendable sensor 14 may have an aspect ratio as shown in FIG. 3A-3B,or they may be more or less elongate and/or more or less thinner orthicker than shown. The particular aspect ratios and sizes shown in thefigures are for illustrative purposes only.

In general, bendable sensors may be coupled to the display, i.e.,attached to, embedded behind, affixed to, or on top of the display. Whenused in conjunction with a non-transparent flexible display, thebendable sensor 14 may be located beneath the display so that flexure ofthe display results in a comparable bending of the bendable sensor 14.An example of a bendable sensor 14 in a bent state is shown in FIG. 4.In some embodiments, bendable sensor 14 may be capable of responding toflexures in both a positive and negative direction of bending (up to+/−180 degrees), whereas in other embodiments, a particular bendablesensor employed may, for example, be sensitive only to bending in aparticular direction. In this regard, as shown in FIG. 5, two bendablesensors 16, oriented opposite to one another as indicated by the shadingon their respective tips 17, may be bound to one another and used as asingle compound bendable sensor having a full range of response.

FIG. 6 shows the device 1 with the flexible display 10 and an array ofbendable sensors 14 provided along the underside of the flexible display10. In the illustrated embodiment, the bendable sensors 14 may not betransparent, and it may be more convenient to locate the bendablesensors 14 beneath the flexible display 10, as shown in FIG. 7. Theparticular arrangement, number, and type of bendable sensors 14 shown isfor illustrative purposes. Thus, more or fewer bendable sensors 14 maybe employed. In addition, the bendable sensors 14 may share a commonorientation, as shown in FIG. 6, have a different orientation thanshown, or be composed of a mixture of bendable sensors 14 having variedorientations.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 20 of detecting andusing a flex of a flexible display to set a device mode and determine agesture. The method 20 may be implemented as one or more modules in aset of logic instructions stored in a machine or computer-readablestorage medium such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), firmware, flash memory, etc., inconfigurable logic such as, for example, programmable logic arrays(PLAs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmablelogic devices (CPLDs), in fixed-functionality hardware logic usingcircuit technology such as, for example, application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) ortransistor-transistor logic (TTL) technology, or any combinationthereof. For example, computer program code to carry out operationsshown in method 20 may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages.

Illustrated processing block 21 detects a bending movement (e.g.,flexing, twisting, etc.) on a flexible display. Detection may be basedon data provided by one or more bendable sensors, such as the bendablesensors 14 (FIGS. 1-7), discussed above. When a flex or flexing of theflexible display has been detected, the method 20 proceeds along twobranches. On the left branch, processing block 22 determines whether themovement of the flexible display corresponds to a mode and if so,whether the movement corresponds to a change in a current mode of deviceoperation. The mode may relate to a device configuration, form factor,power state, and/or other aspect of device use. If no change in mode isassociated with the movement of the flexible display, then controlpasses back to block 21. If a change in mode is indicated, then the modeof the device is changed at illustrated processing block 23, after whichcontrol passes back to block 21 for further detection of movement of theflexible display.

In parallel or in sequence with the left branch, processing block 24determines whether the movement detected of the flexible displaycorresponds to a user gesture. If no correspondence to a gesture isdetermined, then control passes back to block 21 for further detectionof movement of the flexible display. If the movement does correspond toa gesture, then a response to the gesture is generated at illustratedprocessing block 25, after which control passes back to block 21 forfurther detection of movement of the flexible display.

In another embodiment, shown in broken line in FIG. 8, blocks 22 and 24may be combined into illustrated processing block 26 that interprets adisplay flex to determine if a change in device mode or response to agesture is called for. If the flex is interpreted as corresponding to achange in mode or as a gesture (and it may be both), then control passesto blocks 23 and 25 as before. If no change is called for and no gestureis detected, then control may pass back to block 21 for furtherdetection of movement of the flexible display as before.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system 30 for flexibledisplay sensing in which a display analyzer 32 analyzes data provided bydisplay sensors. The display sensors include bendable sensors 34, suchas the bendable sensors 14 (FIGS. 1-7), discussed above. The sensors mayalso include capacitive sensors 36 that may be part of a tactile touchscreen provided as an overlay to the flexible display 10, as well asother sensors 38 such as resistive sensors.

The sensor analyzer 40 includes a bendable sensor analyzer 42 to analyzedata provide by the bendable sensors 34, a capacitive sensor analyzer 44to analyze data provided by the capacitive sensors 36, and an “other”sensor analyzer 46 to analyze data provided by other sensors 38. In someembodiments, the capacitive sensor analyzer 44 and/or the other sensoranalyzer 46 may be absent from the sensor analyzer 40, and only thebendable sensor analyzer 42 may be provided. The sensor analyzer 40weighs the data provided by sensors 34-38 to provide a mergedcharacterization of the available data that may be used to determine andcharacterize the sensors provide.

The data provided by the sensor analyzer 40 may be used by a modedeterminer 48 to determine a device mode and a gesture analyzer 50 todetermine a gesture. For example, an electronic device may have multiplemodes of operation. An electronic device may take advantage of afoldable display to offer a single device that has multiple formfactors, such as a tablet, a reader, and/or a smart phone. Each of theform factors may be a mode of operation, or more simply, a mode. Thus,data from bendable sensors 34 may be processed by the sensor analyzer 40and used by the mode determiner 48 to determine a mode of use oroperation.

Additionally, relative movements between or among portions of a flexibledisplay may be used by a user as a gesture for controlling an aspect ofthe device and/or an application running on the device. In general, adisplay on an electronic device may offer multiple forms of interactionvia user gestures made with respect to the display. A flexible displaymay offer additional possibilities of interaction with the device (e.g.,additional gestures). The additional gestures may be defined by a userimparting, to all or to part of a flexible display, a particularmovement, such as a squeezing movement, a twisting movement, a flexingmovement, or a bending movement of the display. Such gestures may beinterpreted in various ways according to an intention and/or design ofan application developer. For example, a gesture may be interpreted as acommand to turn a page in a book, a page turn, a zooming command(zoom-in or zoom-out), a change to a power setting, a link selection, anadjustment to a level of volume, a brightness control, a cursormovement, and so on. Thus, the gesture analyzer 50 determines thegesture based on the interaction of a user with a flexible display asevaluated by the sensor analyzer 40, and determines whether the sensordata corresponds to a user gesture.

Response generator 52 determines a suitable response to thedetermination made by the mode determiner 48 and/or the gesture analyzer50, and passes the response to one or more applications 54, to a displaycontroller 56, and/or other hardware. For example, if the modedeterminer 48 determines that a new mode is to be entered in which powerto portions of the flexible display may be turned off, then the responsegenerator 52 directs the display controller 56 to power off thecorresponding portions of the flexible display. In another example wherethe gesture analyzer 50 determines that a user has gestured to controlsome aspect of one or more applications 54, the gesture is passed to theone or more applications 54.

In some embodiments, a flexing (or similar movement) of a flexibledisplay, such as the flexible display 10 (FIGS. 1-2), discussed above,may be interpreted as designation of a mode, a gesture, or both thedesignation of the mode and the gesture, and the response generator 52may respond to either or both as is the case.

An embodiment of a device having a flexible display that may assume anyof several modes is shown in FIGS. 10-11. A flexible display 72T has asize suitable for use as a tablet computer. The flexible display 72T isdivided into three panels; namely, panel A, panel B, and panel C. PanelA, panel B, and panel C are all part of and unitary with the flexibledisplay 72T. A substantially rigid chassis is provided to each panel ofthe flexible display 72T to impart rigidity to the otherwise flexiblepanel. Thus, panel A is attached to a chassis 78A, panel B is attachedto a chassis 78B, and panel C is attached to a chassis 78C. Although thepanels in this embodiment may not themselves be flexible due to theirattachment to their respective chassis, there may be portions of theflexible display 72T linking the panels that remain flexible, which mayserve as hinges between adjacent panels. Thus, panels A and B may pivotwith respect to one another about hinge 74, and panels B and C may pivotwith respect to one another about hinge 76.

In addition to bendable and/or other sensors that may be providedunderneath the panels A, B, and C, four bendable sensors 80 may beprovided to straddle the hinge 74 linking panels A and B. Similarly,four bendable sensors 82 may be provided to straddle the hinge 76linking panels B and C. The number of bendable sensors 80, 82 are shownis for illustrative purposes, and more or fewer bendable sensors 80,82may be provided. In some embodiments, the hinge region may also includepressure sensors.

As shown in FIGS. 10-11, the configuration for the flexible panel 72Tmay be used as a tablet computer. In this regard, the configuration maytake advantage of all of the flexible display 72T. Thus, theconfiguration shown in FIGS. 10-11 may correspond to a mode thatcorresponds to a tablet computer, and the mode determiner 48 (FIG. 9),discussed above, may determine that a device is in tablet mode based ondata provided by the bendable sensors 80,82 and the sensor analyzer 40(FIG. 9), discussed above. As a result, the response generator 52 (FIG.9), discussed above, may direct the display controller 56 (FIG. 9),discussed above, to provide power to all of the flexible display 72T.

The use of a flexible display divided into discrete, substantially rigidpanels in conjunction with bendable sensors permits several modes ofoperation in a single device. An example of a method 60 of multi-modeoperation is presented in FIG. 12. The method 60 may be implemented asone or more modules in a set of logic instructions stored in a machine-or computer-readable storage medium such as random access memory (RAM),read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), firmware, flash memory,etc., in configurable logic such as, for example, programmable logicarrays (PLAs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complexprogrammable logic devices (CPLDs), in fixed-functionality hardwarelogic using circuit technology such as, for example, applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), complementary metal oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) or transistor-transistor logic (TTL) technology, orany combination thereof. For example, computer program code to carry outoperations shown in method 60 may be written in any combination of oneor more programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventionalprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languageor similar programming languages.

Illustrated block 62 determines whether panels of a hinged display, suchas the flexible display 72T (FIG. 10), discussed above, have been flexedor bent at one of the hinges 74,76. If it is detected that the panelshave been flexed or bent, illustrated processing block 64 sets a mode ofthe device. The mode may be, for example, a tablet, a reader, or aphone. After the mode is set (or if block 62 returns a NO), controlpasses to processing block 66, which determines whether a userinteraction that may correspond to some other portion of the displaybeing flexed or otherwise manipulated by the user is detected. If noflexing or manipulation is detected, then control passes back to block62 for further detection. If flexing or manipulation is detected, thenillustrated processing block 68 determines if the flexing ormanipulation corresponds to a gesture by the user. Control then passesto illustrated processing block 70, which uses the gesture (if any) tocontrol an aspect of an application and/or the display.

In some embodiments, the interpretation to be attached to a detectedbend or flexing of the display may depend on the context. For example,in some embodiments, a flex detected while in a phone mode may beinterpreted as a gesture. On the other hand, a similar flex or bend ofthe display while in tablet mode may be interpreted differently, and maynot correspond to a gesture at all. Differences in interpretation ofsensor data may arise from the differing ways users hold and interactwith devices. For example, a user may use one hand to grasp a phone andintend a flex to be a gesture. However, when holding a tablet with bothhands, a user may inadvertently cause a similar or identical flex of thedisplay without intending it to correspond to a gesture. Thus, indetermining gesture, block 68 may take into account the context, such asthe mode of the device.

Turning next to FIGS. 13-14, a different configuration for the flexiblepanel is shown than the configuration in FIG. 10-11. Panel C has beenfolded about hinge 76 so that it lies behind panel B, and theconfiguration of the flexible display 72R presented to the user is oftwo panels, A and B, which may be of use as a reader. Thus, theconfiguration shown in FIGS. 13-14 may correspond to a mode thatcorresponds to a reader, and the mode determiner 48 (FIG. 9), discussedabove, may determine that user intends to use the device as a readerbased on the data provided by the bendable sensors 80,82 to define themode as a reader. The response generator 52 (FIG. 9), discussed above,may direct the display controller 56 (FIG. 9), discussed above, toprovide power only to panels A and B and not provide power to panel C,since panel C may not be used in the reader mode.

Another configuration is shown in FIGS. 15-16 according to anembodiment. Panel A has been folded about hinge 74 behind panels B andC, and the configuration presented to the user is of one panel B, whichmay be of use as a phone. Thus, the configuration shown in FIGS. 15-16may correspond to a mode that corresponds to phone, and the modedeterminer 48 (FIG. 9), discussed above, may determine that user intendsto use the device as a phone based on data provided by the bendablesensors 80,82 to define the mode as a phone. The response generator 52(FIG. 9), discussed above, may direct the display controller 56 (FIG.9), discussed above, to provide power only to panel B and direct notprovide power to panels A or C, since panels A and C may not be used inthe phone mode. Thus, a single device may serve as a tablet, a reader,and a phone, offering the user with a form factor and size suited toeach.

FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of a reader similar to the reader shown inFIGS. 13-14, but with the addition of two bendable sensors 84 along aline 86 in panel A of the display 79. Line 86 may overlie hinging in thechassis 78A such that a corner of the panel A may be angled with respectto the rest of panel A. A user may then pivot the corner of the panel78A about line 86, and this gesture may be interpreted by the gestureanalyzer 50 (FIG. 9), discussed above, as corresponding to an indicationthat the user wishes to turn the page of a book that the user is readingon the reader. Thus, the response generator 52 (FIG. 9), discussedabove, may direct a reader application 54 to turn a page. In anotherexample, the gesture may, in the context of a reader, be interpreted asa command to “dog ear” a current page (e.g. mark the current page foreasy future reference). Other interpretations for the gesture may bedetermines, which may depend upon the application 54 in question. Thegesture and other gestures may also be used to control other aspects ofthe device, such as power and performance, link selection, etc.

In general, gestures may be determined based on data provided bybendable sensors located under the display, so that a flexing, twisting,or bending of the display may constitute a gesture. In addition, asqueezing movement may constitute a gesture. For example, when a deviceis in phone mode (FIG. 15), a user may pick up and grip the device witha squeezing action, and the particular squeezing action may itself be agesture.

As shown in FIG. 18, the device is illustrated with the flexible display72P folded into a form factor suitable for being held and squeezed.Forces 83, 85, 86 may be applied by the user's fingers or other portionsof the user's hand to regions of the flexible display 72P on or nearbendable sensors 82-2, 80-1, and 80-3, respectively. The forces 83, 85,86 may result in a sensed flexing of the flexible display 72P, which maybe interpreted as a gesture for example, to answer a call, zoom in on adisplay, and so forth. Different user-provided loading patterns, eitherdiffering in force magnitude or location, may be used to definedifferent gestures.

In another embodiment, bendable sensors or pressure sensors may beprovided along upper and lower edges and side edges of a flexibledisplay to permit detection of gestures along these edges, e.g., throughsqueezing, in addition to gestures detected as user squeezing at thehinges 74, 76.

The aforementioned examples show the mode as corresponding to a tablet,a reader, or a phone, but an angular position of the panels A, B, and Cmay be used to define other modes as well as gestures. For example, FIG.19 shows an embodiment in which panels A and B are propped up abovepanel C. The illustrated positioning of panels A, B, and C may define agesture such as a command to open or close an application, or to draftan email. In addition, FIG. 20 shows an embodiment in which the pivotingof a panel with respect to panels B and C (folded behind panel A) isinterpreted as a gesture to turn a page in a reader. Many other gesturesmay be defined in terms of the position and movement of the panels withrespect to one another, which may correspond to modes as well.

Turning now to FIG. 21, a computing device 110 is illustrated accordingto an embodiment. The computing device 110 may be part of a platformhaving computing functionality (e.g., personal digital assistant/PDA,notebook computer, tablet computer), communications functionality (e.g.,wireless smart phone), imaging functionality, media playingfunctionality (e.g., smart television/TV), wearable functionality (e.g.,watch, eyewear, headwear, footwear, jewelry) or any combination thereof(e.g., mobile Internet device/MID). In the illustrated example, thedevice 110 includes a battery 112 to supply power to the device 110 anda processor 114 having an integrated memory controller (IMC) 116, whichmay communicate with system memory 118. The system memory 118 mayinclude, for example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) configured asone or more memory modules such as, for example, dual inline memorymodules (DIMMs), small outline DIMMs (SODIMMs), etc.

The illustrated device 110 also includes a input output (IO) module 120,sometimes referred to as a Southbridge of a chipset, that functions as ahost device and may communicate with, for example, a display 122 (e.g.,touch screen, liquid crystal display/LCD, light emitting diode/LEDdisplay), a touch sensor 124 (e.g., a touch pad, etc.), and mass storage126 (e.g., hard disk drive/HDD, optical disk, flash memory, etc.). Theillustrated processor 114 may execute logic 128 (e.g., logicinstructions, configurable logic, fixed-functionality logic hardware,etc., or any combination thereof) configured to function similarly tothe system 30.

Additional Notes and Examples

Example 1 may include a system to interpret user interactions with adevice having a flexible display, comprising a portable device having aflexible display, a plurality of bendable sensors coupled to theflexible display, wherein at least one of the plurality of bendablesensors is to generate sensor data in response to detecting a bendingmovement applied to the flexible display, a display analyzer to make adetermination of at least one of a device mode and a gesture, thedetermination based at least on the sensor data from the at least one ofthe plurality of bendable sensors, and a response generator to generatea response based on the determined at least one of a device mode and agesture.

Example 2 may include the system of Example 1, wherein the response tothe determination of the gesture is to include at least one of a pageturn, a zoom command, a change to a power setting, a link selection, anadjustment to a level of volume, a brightness control, and a cursormovement.

Example 3 may include the system of any one of Examples 1 to 2, whereinthe flexible display is to include a plurality of panels that are to befoldable with respect to one another into a plurality of arrangementsthat each are to correspond to a device mode.

Example 4 may include the system of any one of Examples 1 to 3, whereinthe plurality of panels are to be foldable along at least one hinge thatis to include a row of bendable sensors underneath the flexible displayat the at least one hinge.

Example 5 may include the system of any one of Examples 1 to 4, furtherincluding a mode determiner to determine a device mode that is toinclude one of a phone, a reader, or a tablet based on the sensor datafrom the at least one of the plurality of bendable sensors.

Example 6 may include the system of any one of Examples 1 to 5, furtherincluding a gesture analyzer to determine the gesture based on thesensor data from the at least one of the plurality of bendable sensors,wherein the gesture is to correspond to at least one of a squeezingmovement, a twisting movement, a flexing movement, a swiping movement,and a bending movement.

Example 7 may include an apparatus to interpret user interactions with adevice having a flexible display, comprising a flexible display, aplurality of bendable sensors coupled to the flexible display, whereinat least one of the plurality of bendable sensors is to generate sensordata in response to detecting a bending movement applied to the flexibledisplay, a display analyzer to make a determination of at least one of adevice mode and a gesture, the determination based at least on thesensor data from the at least one of the plurality of bendable sensors,and a response generator to generate a response based on the determinedat least one of a device mode and a gesture.

Example 8 may include the apparatus of Example 7, wherein the responseto the determination of the gesture is to include at least one of a pageturn, a zoom command, a change to a power setting, a link selection, anadjustment to a level of volume, a brightness control, and a cursormovement.

Example 9 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 7 to 8,wherein the flexible display is to include a plurality of panels thatare to be foldable with respect to one another into a plurality ofarrangements that each are to correspond to a device mode.

Example 10 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 7 to 9,wherein the plurality of panels are to be foldable along at least onehinge that is to include a row of bendable sensors underneath theflexible display at the at least one hinge.

Example 11 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 7 to 10,further including a mode determiner to determine a device mode that isto include one of a phone, a reader, or a tablet based on the sensordata from the at least one of the plurality of bendable sensors.

Example 12 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 7 to 11,further including a gesture analyzer to determine the gesture based onthe sensor data from the at least one of the plurality of bendablesensors, wherein the gesture is to correspond to at least one of asqueezing movement, a twisting movement, a flexing movement, and abending movement.

Example 13 may include a method to interpret user interactions with adevice having a flexible display, comprising analyzing sensor data fromat least one of a plurality of bendable sensors that are to generatesensor data in response to detecting a bending movement applied todetermine at least one of a device mode and a gesture, and generating aresponse based on the determined at least one of a device mode and agesture.

Example 14 may include the method of Example claim 13, wherein theresponse to the determination of the gesture includes at least one of apage turn, a zooming command, a change to a power setting, a linkselection, an adjustment to a level of volume, a brightness control, anda cursor movement.

Example 15 may include the method of any one of Examples 13-14, whereinthe flexible display includes a plurality of panels that are foldablewith respect to one another into a plurality of arrangements, the methodfurther including determining the device mode based on an arrangement.

Example 16 may include the method of any one of Examples 13-15, whereineach of the plurality of panels is foldable along at least one hingethat includes a row of bendable sensors underneath the flexible displayat the at least one hinge.

Example 17 may include the method of any one of Examples 13-16, furtherincluding determining a device mode including one of a phone, a reader,or a tablet based on the sensor data from the at least one of theplurality of bendable sensors.

Example 18 may include the method of any one of Examples 13-17, furtherincluding determining the gesture based on the sensor data from the atleast one of the plurality of bendable sensors, wherein the gesturecorresponds to at least one of a squeezing movement, a twistingmovement, a flexing movement, and a bending movement of the flexibledisplay.

Example 19 may include at least one computer readable storage mediumcomprising a set of instructions, which when executed by an apparatus,cause the apparatus to analyze sensor data from at least one of aplurality of bendable sensors that are to generate sensor data inresponse to detecting a bending movement applied to determine at leastone of a device mode and a gesture, and generate a response based on thedetermined at least one of a device mode and a gesture.

Example 20 may include the at least one computer readable storage mediumof Example 19, wherein the response to the determination of the gestureis to include at least one of a page turn, a zooming command, a changeto a power setting, a link selection, an adjustment to a level ofvolume, a brightness control, and a cursor movement.

Example 21 may include the at least one computer readable storage mediumof any one of Examples 19 to 20, wherein the flexible display is toinclude a plurality of panels that are to be foldable with respect toone another into a plurality of arrangements, and wherein theinstructions, when executed, cause an apparatus to determine the devicemode based on an arrangement.

Example 22 may include the at least one computer readable storage mediumof any one of Examples 19 to 21, wherein each of the plurality of panelsis to be foldable along at least one hinge that is to include a row ofbendable sensors underneath the flexible display at the at least onehinge.

Example 23 may include the at least one computer readable storage mediumof any one of Examples 19 to 22, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the apparatus to determine a device mode that is toinclude one of a phone, a reader, or a tablet based on the sensor datafrom the at least one of the plurality of bendable sensors.

Example 24 may include the at least one computer readable storage mediumof any one of Examples 19 to 23, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the apparatus to determine the gesture based on thesensor data from the at least one of the plurality of bendable sensors,wherein the gesture is to correspond to at least one of a squeezingmovement, a twisting movement, a flexing movement, and a bendingmovement of the flexible display.

Example 25 may include an apparatus to interpret user interactions witha device having a flexible display, comprising a portable device havinga flexible display, a plurality of bendable sensors, wherein at leastone of the plurality of bendable sensors is to generate data in responseto a flex of the display, and means for determining one or more of adevice mode or a gesture based at least on the data from the at leastone of the plurality of bendable sensors.

Example 26 may include the apparatus of Example 25, wherein the flexibledisplay is to assume a plurality of conformations, each conformation ofthe plurality of conformations to correspond to at least one devicemode.

Example 27 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 26,wherein the display is to include a plurality of panels that are to befoldable with respect to one another.

Example 28 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 27,further including a rigid chassis for each of the plurality of panels.

Example 29 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 28,wherein the plurality of bendable sensors are to be flexible.

Example 30 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 29,wherein the plurality of panels are to be foldable along hinges, eachhinge to be associated with at least one of the plurality of bendablesensors.

Example 31 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 30,wherein the plurality of bendable sensors are to be adjacent to theflexible display.

Example 32 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 31,further including means for determining a device mode based on the datafrom the at least one sensor.

Example 33 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 32,further including means for determining the gesture based on the datafrom the at least one sensor.

Example 34 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 33,wherein the device mode is to include one or more of a phone, a reader,or a tablet.

Example 35 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 34,wherein the gesture is to include one or more of a squeezing, a flexing,a twisting, or a bending of at least part of the flexible display.

Example 36 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 35,wherein the gesture is to be interpreted as a command to one or more ofturn a page, change a level of device volume, select a link, resize adisplay, or scroll a display.

Example 37 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 36,wherein a portion of the plurality of bendable sensors are to bearranged back-to-back with respect to one another.

Example 38 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 37,wherein a portion of the plurality of bendable sensors are to bearranged along a diagonal with respect to a corner of the flexibledisplay.

Example 39 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 38,wherein the flexible display is to be divided into panels by at leastone hinge portion, and wherein a row of flexible sensors are to beadjacent to the at least one hinge portion.

Example 40 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 39,wherein the flexible display is to include an organic light emittingdiode (OLED) flexible display.

Example 41 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 40,wherein the flexible display is to include three panels.

Example 42 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 41,wherein the flexible display is to include a capacitive touch sensor.

Example 43 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 42,wherein the flexible display is to include a pressure sensor.

Example 44 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples 25 to 43,further including means for generating a response to determining one ormore of the device mode or the gesture.

Example 45 may include a method of interacting with a flexible screen,comprising detecting a bending movement in one or more flexible sensorsadjacent to the flexible screen, and determining a gesture based on thebending movement.

Example 46 may include the method of Example 45, further includingdetermining a screen mode based on the bending movement.

Embodiments are applicable for use with all types of semiconductorintegrated circuit (“IC”) chips. Examples of these IC chips include butare not limited to processors, controllers, chipset components,programmable logic arrays (PLAs), memory chips, network chips, systemson chip (SoCs), SSD/NAND controller ASICs, and the like. In addition, insome of the drawings, signal conductor lines are represented with lines.Some may be different, to indicate more constituent signal paths, have anumber label, to indicate a number of constituent signal paths, and/orhave arrows at one or more ends, to indicate primary information flowdirection. This, however, should not be construed in a limiting manner.Rather, such added detail may be used in connection with one or moreexemplary embodiments to facilitate easier understanding of a circuit.Any represented signal lines, whether or not having additionalinformation, may actually comprise one or more signals that may travelin multiple directions and may be implemented with any suitable type ofsignal scheme, e.g., digital or analog lines implemented withdifferential pairs, optical fiber lines, and/or single-ended lines.

Example sizes/models/values/ranges may have been given, althoughembodiments are not limited to the same. As manufacturing techniques(e.g., photolithography) mature over time, it is expected that devicesof smaller size could be manufactured. In addition, well knownpower/ground connections to IC chips and other components may or may notbe shown within the figures, for simplicity of illustration anddiscussion, and so as not to obscure certain aspects of the embodiments.Further, arrangements may be shown in block diagram form in order toavoid obscuring embodiments, and also in view of the fact that specificswith respect to implementation of such block diagram arrangements arehighly dependent upon the platform within which the embodiment is to beimplemented, i.e., such specifics should be well within purview of oneskilled in the art. Where specific details (e.g., circuits) are setforth in order to describe example embodiments, it should be apparent toone skilled in the art that embodiments can be practiced without, orwith variation of, these specific details. The description is thus to beregarded as illustrative instead of limiting.

The term “coupled” may be used herein to refer to any type ofrelationship, direct or indirect, between the components in question,and may apply to electrical, mechanical, fluid, optical,electromagnetic, electromechanical or other connections. In addition,the terms “first”, “second”, etc. may be used herein only to facilitatediscussion, and carry no particular temporal or chronologicalsignificance unless otherwise indicated.

As used in this application and in the claims, a list of items joined bythe term “one or more of” may mean any combination of the listed terms.For example, the phrases “one or more of A, B or C” may mean A, B, C; Aand B; A and C; B and C; or A, B and C.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate from the foregoing descriptionthat the broad techniques of the embodiments can be implemented in avariety of forms. Therefore, while the embodiments have been describedin connection with particular examples thereof, the true scope of theembodiments should not be so limited since other modifications willbecome apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of thedrawings, specification, and following claims.

We claim:
 1. A system comprising: a portable device having a flexibledisplay; a plurality of bendable sensors coupled to the flexibledisplay, wherein at least one of the plurality of bendable sensors is togenerate sensor data in response to detecting a bending movement appliedto the flexible display; a display analyzer to make a determination ofat least one of a device mode and a gesture, the determination based atleast on the sensor data from the at least one of the plurality ofbendable sensors; and a response generator to generate a response basedon the determined at least one of a device mode and a gesture.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the response to the determination of thegesture is to include at least one of a page turn, a zoom command, achange to a power setting, a link selection, an adjustment to a level ofvolume, a brightness control, and a cursor movement.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the flexible display is to include a plurality ofpanels that are to be foldable with respect to one another into aplurality of arrangements that each are to correspond to a device mode.4. The system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of panels are to befoldable along at least one hinge that is to include a row of bendablesensors underneath the flexible display at the at least one hinge. 5.The system of claim 1, further including a mode determiner to determinea device mode that is to include one of a phone, a reader, or a tabletbased on the sensor data from the at least one of the plurality ofbendable sensors.
 6. The system of claim 1, further including a gestureanalyzer to determine the gesture based on the sensor data from the atleast one of the plurality of bendable sensors, wherein the gesture isto correspond to at least one of a squeezing movement, a twistingmovement, a flexing movement, a swiping movement, and a bendingmovement.
 7. An apparatus comprising: a flexible display; a plurality ofbendable sensors coupled to the flexible display, wherein at least oneof the plurality of bendable sensors is to generate sensor data inresponse to detecting a bending movement applied to the flexibledisplay; a display analyzer to make a determination of at least one of adevice mode and a gesture, the determination based at least on thesensor data from the at least one of the plurality of bendable sensors;and a response generator to generate a response based on the determinedat least one of a device mode and a gesture.
 8. The apparatus of claim7, wherein the response to the determination of the gesture is toinclude at least one of a page turn, a zoom command, a change to a powersetting, a link selection, an adjustment to a level of volume, abrightness control, and a cursor movement.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7,wherein the flexible display is to include a plurality of panels thatare to be foldable with respect to one another into a plurality ofarrangements that each are to correspond to a device mode.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of panels are to be foldablealong at least one hinge that is to include a row of bendable sensorsunderneath the flexible display at the at least one hinge.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 7, further including a mode determiner to determine adevice mode that is to include one of a phone, a reader, or a tabletbased on the sensor data from the at least one of the plurality ofbendable sensors.
 12. The apparatus of claim 7, further including agesture analyzer to determine the gesture based on the sensor data fromthe at least one of the plurality of bendable sensors, wherein thegesture is to correspond to at least one of a squeezing movement, atwisting movement, a flexing movement, and a bending movement.
 13. Amethod comprising: analyzing sensor data from at least one of aplurality of bendable sensors that are to generate sensor data inresponse to detecting a bending movement applied to determine at leastone of a device mode and a gesture; and generating a response based onthe determined at least one of a device mode and a gesture.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the response to the determination of thegesture includes at least one of a page turn, a zooming command, achange to a power setting, a link selection, an adjustment to a level ofvolume, a brightness control, and a cursor movement.
 15. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the flexible display includes a plurality of panelsthat are foldable with respect to one another into a plurality ofarrangements, the method further including determining the device modebased on an arrangement.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein each of theplurality of panels is foldable along at least one hinge that includes arow of bendable sensors underneath the flexible display at the at leastone hinge.
 17. The method of claim 13, further including determining adevice mode including one of a phone, a reader, or a tablet based on thesensor data from the at least one of the plurality of bendable sensors.18. The method of claim 13, further including determining the gesturebased on the sensor data from the at least one of the plurality ofbendable sensors, wherein the gesture corresponds to at least one of asqueezing movement, a twisting movement, a flexing movement, and abending movement of the flexible display.
 19. At least one computerreadable storage medium comprising a set of instructions, which whenexecuted by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to: analyze sensor datafrom at least one of a plurality of bendable sensors that are togenerate sensor data in response to detecting a bending movement appliedto determine at least one of a device mode and a gesture; and generate aresponse based on the determined at least one of a device mode and agesture.
 20. The at least one computer readable storage medium of claim19, wherein the response to the determination of the gesture is toinclude at least one of a page turn, a zooming command, a change to apower setting, a link selection, an adjustment to a level of volume, abrightness control, and a cursor movement.
 21. The at least one computerreadable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the flexible display is toinclude a plurality of panels that are to be foldable with respect toone another into a plurality of arrangements, and wherein theinstructions, when executed, cause an apparatus to determine the devicemode based on an arrangement.
 22. The at least one computer readablestorage medium of claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of panels isto be foldable along at least one hinge that is to include a row ofbendable sensors underneath the flexible display at the at least onehinge.
 23. The at least one computer readable storage medium of claim19, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the apparatus todetermine a device mode that is to include one of a phone, a reader, ora tablet based on the sensor data from the at least one of the pluralityof bendable sensors.
 24. The at least one computer readable storagemedium of claim 19, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause theapparatus to determine the gesture based on the sensor data from the atleast one of the plurality of bendable sensors, wherein the gesture isto correspond to at least one of a squeezing movement, a twistingmovement, a flexing movement, and a bending movement of the flexibledisplay.